Unicorn Summit - Levels 169 - 174

[OpeningCeremony]

Woo Hoo! Catching up to the newer islands :D

Level 169 has one long snake going through the middle of the board. There are 3 separated top areas that should be focused on breaking the glass and also ****ing the snake so you can break the glass underneath it. Besides that, nothing new so far... A nice relief from the pesky flames

[OpeningCeremony]

level 170 is a glass level. there are 4 stone jewels that are propped up by 2 walls. the key is to get the stone jewel out of that position either by creating a special jewel (ideal) or just moving it out of that spot so that you can break the glass. the stone jewel can't move just by dropping because of the wall, which is why you need to move it yourself. so for this level, focus on getting the stone jewels out of the way.

level 171 is timed and you must dig down 12 meters. a row of black jewels and then eventually some white blocks and then just a row of jewels alternate with regular brick in between. so best way is to create blasters and bombs to get rid of the black jewels so it doesn't block you from digging down.

[Phaedrakiki]

Hi Aleeniweeni, just wanted to say how much I appreciate all of your tips! You have already helped me so much, and I know these will be handy, too--if I ever get there, lol. Stuck on 116 right now (timed level & unbreakable/stone jewels--so hard for me!) Sounds like I'll still be battling those new jewels on your faraway island... ;)

Good luck, and thanks again! :D

[OpeningCeremony]

hey Phaedrakiki! thanks!! and your tips have been really great too!! yea those stone jewels are tough tough tough!!

level 172 is another timed digging level. only have to dig 6 meters down and there are some walls w/in the bricks. there is >4 min on the timer which seems nice... BUT lots of surprises drop down as you play. doom jewels, black jewels, white blocks... so far have dropped in so you'll be busy trying to get rid of those. obviously doom jewel takes priority. only had one energy to try the level, so i'll try again later to see if anything else troubling drops in :p

[OpeningCeremony]

in level 172, i managed to finally get a board that didn't have a crazy amount of doom jewels dropping in and was able to pass it with a lot of time left on the clock. the level starts with 4:50 minutes but by the time i dug down to 6/6 i still had around 2:50 left on the clock. the level won't finish until all the remaining time ends, so i made a couple more matches, only to have more doom jewels drop in. luckily i was able to get rid of the doom jewels, and then i just stopped making anymore moves. so my piece of advice for this level, once you dig 6/6 meters down and it says goal reached AND you've gotten rid of any doom jewels present on the board, just stop making any moves. it's simply not worth the risk to earn more points by digging down more (unless you've already beaten this level and are trying to get 3 stars). you must resist the urge!! i'd also randomly touch my screen just to make sure my device didn't idle out.

level 173 is a fire level. it has a bunch of snakes at the bottom (8 i think) and a couple doom jewels, stone jewels, crates. and some white blocks and black jewels drop in (maybe more doom jewels too - can't remember). the primary focus is getting rid of the doom jewels. don't worry about the crates or stone jewels since this is a fire level. once you **** the snakes, it will expose the fire and then the fire will start to spread with each move you make. i passed this level with a bomb/blaster combo near the bottom.

and to the last level of unicorn summit, level 174 is a fire and timed level. however, unlike usual fire timed levels, the fire will only spread each time you make a move. since the fire doesn't spread by the amount of time that passes, don't feel pressured to move fast. there are some gaps that run down the middle of the board, so when the fire starts to spread from the bottom to the top it will divide the board into 2 areas. in the few rounds i've played, the board was constantly reshuffling because as the fire grew it made the areas smaller and harder to make matches. there is 3:20 minutes on the clock, so it's probably wise to play a slower game but make better matches that are next to the fire or make matches to create special jewels. hope to get a glimpse of the next island by end of day :)

[OpeningCeremony]

Passed 174 and it was no picnic. So hard to make any good matches. I got lucky and had a diamond make itself and dropped down onto a blaster. Combined those babies and pow! Wiped out the fire. Otherwise this level is nothing but a shuffling shrinking board. Onto the next island !

[Phaedrakiki]

in level 172, (...)
by the time i dug down to 6/6 i still had around 2:50 left on the clock. the level won't finish until all the remaining time ends, so i made a couple more matches, only to have more doom jewels drop in. luckily i was able to get rid of the doom jewels, and then i just stopped making anymore moves. so my piece of advice for this level, once you dig 6/6 meters down and it says goal reached AND you've gotten rid of any doom jewels present on the board, just stop making any moves. it's simply not worth the risk
(...) :)

Good advice! I was on a similar level recently, same thing happened ( longer doom jewel timers, though.) I was thinking how furious I'd have been if a doom jewel got me after finally digging far enough! Very smart!


Passed 174 and (...) I got lucky and had a diamond make itself and dropped down onto a blaster. Combined those babies and pow! Wiped out the fire (...)

Don't cha love it when that happens! Good luck in the next island!

[Phaedrakiki]

(...) Level 169 has one long snake going through the middle of the board. There are 3 separated top areas that should be focused on breaking the glass and also ****ing the snake so you can break the glass underneath it. (...)

Level 169: 53 double-glass in 45 moves (5JC's.) A long single-headed snake vertically down the middle, and 2 areas separated from oddly-shaped main board--a 3 x 3 area in upper left & 3 x 2 area in upper right.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/becf4edf-74e7-49a9-b978-928af58fe57e_zpse6bd625b.jpg

I ****ed the snake, and tried to make moves towards the bottom so that I'd get "bonus matches" as replacement jewels fell in. I watched the 2 separated areas for moves I could make to clear the glass. Finally combined a blaster + bomb, which got all but two remaining glass in upper right. Made a few more moves until I got a match in the right area above, and Tah-dah! On to next... :D

Very enjoyable level! Have fun,
Phaedrakiki

[Phaedrakiki]

level 170 is a glass level. there are 4 stone jewels that are propped up by 2 walls. the key is to get the stone jewel out of that position either by creating a special jewel (ideal) or just moving it out of that spot so that you can break the glass. the stone jewel can't move just by dropping because of the wall, which is why you need to move it yourself. so for this level, focus on getting the stone jewels out of the way. (...)

Level 170: 60 2x-glass in 85 moves (all 6 JC's.) Stone jewels tucked into "L"-shaped wooden walls (use Aileeni's tip above.)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/4332c46d-27a4-4421-b329-a7ecdbea1ea1_zps30146e58.jpg

I passed this one on my first try. I ended up clearing 2 of the unbreakable/stone jewels, and the other two I just moved out of the way. Eventually I was down to 2 glass in the bottom left wall area, which is a little difficult to match-around. Luckily, I made a diamond directly above, so I swapped it with the jewel in the "L". The jewel on the other remaining glass was the same color, so it was also cleared by the diamond. So I passed--Hurray! What perfect timing! :D

Enjoy this fun level!
Phaedrakiki
P.S.: No energy to check the next level, guess I'll hit the hay...

[Phaedrakiki]

(...) level 171 is timed and you must dig down 12 meters. a row of black jewels and then eventually some white blocks and then just a row of jewels alternate with regular brick in between. so best way is to create blasters and bombs to get rid of the black jewels so it doesn't block you from digging down.

Level 171: 5:15 to dig 12 meters (6JC's.) Black boxes and ice are embedded in the dirt/brick. See Aileeni's tip above.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/28ba0c6f-e235-4243-929b-5552c7be306a_zpsa9e9f60f.jpg
http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/a07b3479-63f6-4c50-a5bb-ab1c2387cc2b_zps88e424b9.jpg
http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/2e6c5c1d-d7cd-44ba-9efe-6d25381849c0_zpsdf39569f.jpg

I had just enough energy charge to try it once...got to the last row (close, but no cigar :confused:.) I wasted a little time, though, taking screenshots, etc. planning to restart, but then I saw it had matches at the dirt line, plus a blaster-creating move. So I decided to play. So if I get the same opportunities next time, I'll dive right in instead of dilly-dallying, and I should be able to pass. We'll see tomorrow! ~
G'night, all!
Phaedrakiki

[Phaedrakiki]

Level 166: (...)
Oops, that should've been Level 171! Sorry about that...I was too sleepy to be posting... ;)

[Phaedrakiki]

Wow, the black blocks (jewels?) really block your digging progress on level 171. You have to blast/bomb at least some of them if you want to get anywhere (in time, anyway.) I've got down to just 1 square left--twice! So frustrating, but it's still a fun level. There's a lot of time, so it doesn't feel crazy-rushed. Haven't passed yet, though...maybe I should rush, lol! ;)

[OpeningCeremony]

sounds like you're making great progress!! i'm still stuck on 2nd level of tentacle tunnel.. >.< although i haven't been using my energies to my maximum capacity ;) i've been busy on my other account playing catch up. and i just hit misty mountain. you're almost to lvl 174... that one is a lil bugger.

[Phaedrakiki]

Uh, oh...lil' bugger, huh? Yikes! Good luck on 230. Those restricted jewels proving difficult, huh? You'll conquer it soon...your JMM will come thru! ;)

[Phaedrakiki]

(...) level 172 is another timed digging level. only have to dig 6 meters down and there are some walls w/in the bricks. there is >4 min on the timer which seems nice... BUT lots of surprises drop down as you play. doom jewels, black jewels, white blocks... so far have dropped in so you'll be busy trying to get rid of those. obviously doom jewel takes priority. (...)

Level 172: Dig 6 levels in 9:15 (all 6JC's.) Wow, that's a lot of time--they've increased it! There are walls embedded in the dirt/bricks, which make it hard to manipulate the jewels at dirt-level. Doom jewels, as well as all the other goodies mentioned above, drop in on you throughout. Move fast, cuz the doom jewels have short "fuses."

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/a3b42cbc-0b21-4f6b-9d15-622b8eb2b3fe_zps538deeab.jpg
http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/8752619d-a045-421d-8226-b300f5171687_zpsd53be72f.jpg
Tried this once, and still had more than half the time left by the time I'd dug 4 rows & part of the final 2. Unfortunately, a doom jewel got me! Couldn't find the matching color in time. Since all 6 jewel colors are used, it can be hard to find matches for doom jewels that drop. Ugh, so frustrating making it all that way...
Good luck,
Phaedrakiki

in level 172, i managed (...) to pass it with a lot of time left on the clock. (...) by the time i dug down to 6/6 i still had around 2:50 left on the clock. the level won't finish until all the remaining time ends, so i made a couple more matches, only to have more doom jewels drop in. luckily i was able to get rid of the doom jewels, and then i just stopped making anymore moves. so my piece of advice for this level, once you dig 6/6 meters down and it says goal reached AND you've gotten rid of any doom jewels present on the board, just stop making any moves. it's simply not worth the risk to earn more points by digging down more (unless you've already beaten this level and are trying to get 3 stars). you must resist the urge!! i'd also randomly touch my screen just to make sure my device didn't idle out. (...) Excellent tip! If I pass this level, you can be sure I'll heed this! :D

[Phaedrakiki]

OMG! I can't believe it--I passed 172! :D I'm shaking so bad; I hate doom jewels! I actually had a minute or so left over, and I sorta took my time on it. The faster you move, the faster the doom jewels fall in, so... Ooh, it gets scary when you make a combo, cuz all the replacement jewels fall in fast--and guaranteed some of them will be doom jewels. It's almost better (less risky) not to do big combos, and dig slowly or just do a blaster/bomb/diamond by itself. The doom jewels are hard to clear sometimes, with all those colors on the board. When you see a doom jewel, move fast and clear it. Then you can go back to a good steady digging pace, lol! Anyway, I wish you luck on this tricky level!

[Phaedrakiki]

(...) level 173 is a fire level. it has a bunch of snakes at the bottom (8 i think) and a couple doom jewels, stone jewels, crates. and some white blocks and black jewels drop in (maybe more doom jewels too - can't remember). the primary focus is getting rid of the doom jewels. don't worry about the crates or stone jewels since this is a fire level. once you **** the snakes, it will expose the fire and then the fire will start to spread with each move you make. i passed this level with a bomb/blaster combo near the bottom. (...)
Level 173: Put out 8 fire in 55 moves (all 6 JC's.) Wow, this level has a lot going on! It's crazy hard figuring out which moves to make (at first, anyway--after awhile there aren't many moves left and you get reshuffling!) This ones going to require a lucky board...please, bring on the luck!!! ;)

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/14cef507-1337-4209-95f7-f965f87e8849_zps59f000a0.jpg

Phaedrakiki

[Phaedrakiki]

Whew--got lucky on 173! Combined a diamond + blaster, and then later 2 bombs, which got me down to one flame, with a regular 3-jewel match right next to it! Whoo hoo! I didn't really target most of the snakes, they just got ****ed in the crossfire of blasting & clearing the flames. There were still a couple crates left at the end of the level, too. When it was over I only had 1 move left...close one!!

[Phaedrakiki]

(...) level 174 is a fire and timed level. however, unlike usual fire timed levels, the fire will only spread each time you make a move. since the fire doesn't spread by the amount of time that passes, don't feel pressured to move fast. there are some gaps that run down the middle of the board, so when the fire starts to spread from the bottom to the top it will divide the board into 2 areas. in the few rounds i've played, the board was constantly reshuffling because as the fire grew it made the areas smaller and harder to make matches. there is 3:20 minutes on the clock, so it's probably wise to play a slower game but make better matches that are next to the fire or make matches to create special jewels. (...)

Passed 174 and it was no picnic. So hard to make any good matches. (...) this level is nothing but a shuffling shrinking board. (...)
Level 174: Snuff 8 fire in 7:10 (6 JC's.) They added lots of time on this one, but if you don't get a handle on the fire from the start (and keep it handled!) your board will shrink until there are no matches & it just keeps reshuffling. I played once, and it's like Aleeni said...you can take your time cuz the fire moves as you do... Here it is:

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/0fe305bb-ccca-49fc-8bd4-ef49f87691c1_zps5c11555e.jpg

Good luck,
Phaedrakiki
PS: Here's how the board looks if you lose control of the fire:

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/2884fa1a-f01e-473e-8397-ce9ab06fcf8e_zpse182f725.jpg

I "lost" the left side about 3/4 of the way thru. Right before that, it looked promising. I had the bottom cleared & only 3 or 4 flames on the left! I wasn't really able to do any good combos that round, though. Just lots of blasters and a few bombs detonated on thier own...

[OpeningCeremony]

PS: Here's how the board looks if you lose control of the fire:

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/2884fa1a-f01e-473e-8397-ce9ab06fcf8e_zpse182f725.jpg

I "lost" the left side about 3/4 of the way thru. Right before that, it looked promising. I had the bottom cleared & only 3 or 4 flames on the left! I wasn't really able to do any good combos that round, though. Just lots of blasters and a few bombs detonated on thier own...

yea if one half of the board is covered in flames it's pretty much impossible to pass the level. you're probably better off saving your time and just restarting the level. because there are too many jewel colors to be able to make lots of special jewels and combos. i've played this level numerous times on my other account and i was never able to make a come back after half my board went up in flames. and i guess it's even hard to make "smart moves" on this level since you often only have 1 or 2 choices to make a match. And all the extra time that was added is really not helpful at all! haha. Good luck Phaedrakiki!! hope you're not stuck there too long :)

[pastasplace]

Just finished 171, but haven't got energy to start 172... They were a really nice few levels! It was nice to have a breather after those fire levels! Felt like the earlier levels when it was fun!

However, 5 minutes on the clock makes me a bad mummy... My little person had to watch a few episodes of Sarah and Duck just so I could play (not that she minded of course!!)... Those levels with 9 minutes on the clock are going to be too long for me to manage...

[Phaedrakiki]

Just finished 171 (...) They were a really nice few levels! It was nice to have a breather after those fire levels! Felt like the earlier levels when it was fun!

However, 5 minutes on the clock makes me a bad mummy... (...) Those levels with 9 minutes on the clock are going to be too long for me to manage...

Yeah, this island has some fun, as well as lengthy levels! It was nice being away from fire for a bit. Though now, I'm right back in it. Wait til you see 174--Aileeni calling it "a lil' bugger" is putting it mildly, lol! Glad you're "moving" now...I know firsthand how frustrating it is to be stuck. In fact, I'm prob stuck now (gonna require some luck on 174...)

See ya here soon!
Phaedrakiki
PS: You mean Jewel Mania isn't supposed to take precedence over parenting? ;)

[Phaedrakiki]

yea if one half of the board is covered in flames it's pretty much impossible to pass the level. you're probably better off saving your time and just restarting the level. (...) i've played this level numerous times (...) i was never able to make a come back after half my board went up in flames. (...) hard to make "smart moves" on this level since you often only have 1 or 2 choices to make a match. And all the extra time that was added is really not helpful at all! (...)
Haha, yeah I see what you mean about the extra time. It's not really helpful, though I guess it would be in the right circumstances. We'll see if those come about, lol. I do like the fact that you can take your time--never thought I'd say that about a timed level! And I see what you mean about it being a waste of time trying to bring the board back from the brink of fire disaster! This level really isn't (usually) about making smart moves, either. As you say, there's usually only 1 or 2 total! I've only made diamonds twice; both times had to waste 'em cuz they were the only move on the board! Frustrating, that! This level will prob come down to luck--hopefully, I'll get something like your "blaster dropped down onto diamond"-thing (and soon!) ;)

Last night something weird happened. I often get "sync" errors, or lagging. Sometimes it results in an "Oh, darn" message, & other times it fixes itself. But last night, it did a little "skipped record" sound (like sometimes happens) and then the board froze...but the timer kept going! You can see the 4 yellow jewels in a row, but they never combined & disappeared. The timer kept counting down, and I could pause the board (kept doing it hoping it would "catch up" with itself,) and then go back to it. Initially I could make more matches, but the jewels wouldn't "disappear" (happened prior to photos.) Then there were no more matches to be had, so all I could do is watch the timer drain. When time was out, the game was stuck on 0:00, and I couldn't close out of the level. I had to force-close the game. When I tried it first thing today, it seemed like it was going to "skip" again. So I forced closed JM, then hard-restarted my iPhone. I just played a game, and it seemed to work fine. Here are 3 screenshots, showing it stuck as timer went on:

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/fb81a4be-b701-4aaa-8cd9-bc3d52b19a04_zps003e2859.jpg http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/c363b586-bc71-4569-8d11-84d1eea4c1bd_zps4cb72916.jpg http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/a0687aa0-967d-4de7-8d4c-77790f390cbf_zps2857853d.jpg

How bizarre! Right? :confused: Hope that doesn't happen again! :(

[OpeningCeremony]

(...) This level will prob come down to luck--hopefully, I'll get something like your "blaster dropped down onto diamond"-thing (and soon!) ;)

Last night something weird happened. I often get "sync" errors, or lagging. (...)

How bizarre! Right? :confused: Hope that doesn't happen again! :(

yes it most definitely will require luck and lots of it! in a couple rounds, i had a horizontal blaster drop down to the bottom row, with only flames left in the bottom row, BUT of course no jewels in sight to activate it. that's the only time that boost which "activates all your special jewels at once" may come in handy. it is offered for coins before you start the level, but you never know if you'll actually have a good use for it. mine is 206k coins, so it'd only be a matter of time that my coins would drain from using it each time.

and wow that's really weird about your sync error... i'm just glad it didn't happen to you at a time that you were about to clear a level. that'd be super frustrating. i'm sure you're updated and all that jazz? i've had weird random errors before but not frequent at all.

[OpeningCeremony]

(...) Last night something weird happened. (...)
http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/fb81a4be-b701-4aaa-8cd9-bc3d52b19a04_zps003e2859.jpg http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/c363b586-bc71-4569-8d11-84d1eea4c1bd_zps4cb72916.jpg http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/a0687aa0-967d-4de7-8d4c-77790f390cbf_zps2857853d.jpg

How bizarre! Right? :confused: Hope that doesn't happen again! :(

ok i just noticed that in your pictures the flame count increased from 26 to 27 to 29... which shouldn't happen if you're not making any moves (in this particular level). very strange!!

[Phaedrakiki]

Wow, I hadn't noticed the flame count, Aileeniweeni! Very odd. Yeah, I'm updated & all. Hopefully, it was a one-time thing. If it happens again, I'll contact support. Oh yeah, if I had been close to passing, I'd be highly upset! :mad:

As for the boosts, it's nice they offer some for coins. But I don't like how you lose the boosts if you don't use them. You can't possibly know if you're going to get close on any random attempt at a level. That's when you'd want to use a boost, not when one side of your board's engulfed in flame, or you are down to one match & constant reshuffling 2 minutes in. You're right, your coins or gold would diminish quickly if you had to buy the boost before every single "try". If they did it differently, if they let an unused boost carry over to the next attempt (of the same level), it would be more "fair" & they'd probably sell more of them!

I, too, have had horizontal blasters drop to the bottom on 174. Just happened, in fact. Didn't think about that "activation" boost, but it def would've come in handy. I certainly had a few blasters in good spots! Too bad they don't let you buy it & use it when you need it! Well, you can, but it costs more in the level (or maybe not that one...) I actually did my first "big combo" on this level, a blaster + bomb. (I call blasters w/bomb or diamond "big"--the rest seem to clear a smaller # of jewels.) It was too high on the board to clear enough fire, though. Still waiting on that luck, lol! ;)

[FrozenTurtle]

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/fb81a4be-b701-4aaa-8cd9-bc3d52b19a04_zps003e2859.jpg http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/c363b586-bc71-4569-8d11-84d1eea4c1bd_zps4cb72916.jpg http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/a0687aa0-967d-4de7-8d4c-77790f390cbf_zps2857853d.jpg

Thanks for these screenshots! We'll take a look to see why this happened.

[Phaedrakiki]

Thanks for these screenshots! We'll take a look to see why this happened.

Thank you, Frozen Turtle! :D

[Phaedrakiki]

Omg! I just got 2 diamonds next to each other on 174. I also had a red blaster next to 1 of the diamonds, but only 2 other red jewels. So swapping the diamonds was the best choice. It cleared a lot of fire, but I didn't pass. I hope that wasn't all my luck wasted in one game, lol! I even had a third diamond after that, but couldn't combo it...it was the only move I had! I also made lots of blasters & bombs, but couldn't get 'em next to each other. Ugh, this level is very frustrating, I'm starting to envision being stuck here forever! My arm is even sore from playing--the levels on Unicorn Summit are quite a bit lengthier than others!

[Phaedrakiki]

Hey, just realized the time on 174 has been reduced to 5:44! It probably doesn't matter, but I guess I shouldn't dawdle so much. I was wondering how it was going by so fast the last couple times...duh! :confused:

[Phaedrakiki]

Whoo-hoo!!! I finally got lucky...got a diamond and a green blaster next to each other (and this time there were lots of same-color jewels on the board!) It was only seconds into the game, too, so there wasn't much fire to put out. When I saw two green horizontal blasters in the bottom row, I knew I was going to pass. Hahahahahahahaha...I'm so happyyyyyy! :D

Oh, sorry. Lost control there for a minute...

You know how at the end, all the leftover time/minutes turn into "bonus" blasters/bombs? I had so much time left, that the entire board turned into special jewels! They all exploded, and then it added even more! Here's how it looked when it was full of specials:

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/2fe1763e-736b-423f-b231-4608f0927ec9_zpsd54f819b.jpg

Looks cool, right? I snapped it a little early, though...there's still a regular jewel left on that screenshot. Oops! Unfortunately, even after all that, I still only ended up with one star! Don't want to think about going back for more, at least not soon. I suppose I will eventually have to. In the meantime, I really wish they'd fix this. If you finish early, you should get more than one star! Anyway, guess it's time to go. I'm heading off to Toadstool Thicket (http://forums.storm8.com/showthread.php?51431-Toadstool-Thicket-Levels-175-180). Good luck! :)

[OpeningCeremony]

Whoo-hoo!!! I finally got lucky...got a diamond and a green blaster next to each other (and this time there were lots of same-color jewels on the board!) It was only seconds into the game, too, so there wasn't much fire to put out. When I saw two green horizontal blasters in the bottom row, I knew I was going to pass. Hahahahahahahaha...I'm so happyyyyyy! :D

Oh, sorry. Lost control there for a minute...

You know how at the end, all the leftover time/minutes turn into "bonus" blasters/bombs? I had so much time left, that the entire board turned into special jewels! They all exploded, and then it added even more!
(...)
Looks cool, right? I snapped it a little early, though...there's still a regular jewel left on that screenshot. Oops! Unfortunately, even after all that, I still only ended up with one star! Don't want to think about going back for more, at least not soon. (...)

YAY!! CONGRATS!! i really dislike this level and i'm glad you weren't stuck for ages :D and i've had my board end up like that before too. it was great! but you don't get nearly enough points as you think you would get for that happening, but still looks really cool as you said! haha and i spotted that last 'regular' jewel leftover and was about to say something but then continued reading your post and saw that you caught it too :p yay again for you!

[Phaedrakiki]

Yeah, I was trying to time it just right. I tend to be a little "slow on the draw" so I overcompensated, lol! And I can't do 2 screenshots in quick succession. I don't know if this is normal, or just my device. :confused: (It's my first IOS...was an Android girl before.) In fact, sometimes on digging levels, I have to take the screenshots on 2 different rounds--just can't take the photos quickly enough!

Thanks, Aileeniweeni, it was a supreme relief to get through level 174!

[pastasplace]

Congrats to you! 174 really is a lil' bugger isn't it?! So few matches! The other previous levels have been fine... But it was really difficult on the digging down level.... I took your advice Aileeniweeni - and didn't touch the screen as soon as I'd passed for fear of getting a doom jewel! I had over six minutes left on the clock, and some purple jewels kept flashing at me to switch them! I was good and left them be!

[pastasplace]

Finally finished! A couple of blasters landing in lucky spots got it down to 2 flames, which for once has a match right next to them! Hurrah!! I had over 4 minutes left on the clock... It made every jewel a special jewel, blasted them all, and then did some more for a second big blast! Two stars!

Onwards!

[Phaedrakiki]

Congrats! Passing that one is a huge relief, huh? ;) Yay!

[OpeningCeremony]

yay congrats pastasplace! :)

[pastasplace]

Thank you both!

[igames4me]

Thanks tl for making 174 easier and passable

I thought the way it was impossible until you fixed it

[Gardienn]

174 pissed me off. I got a bomb-blaster combo and it cleared most of the fire, but then it FROZE. I couldn't swipe jewels and matched jewels after the combo wouldn't clear. By the time I got the game unstuck, almost all the fire I cleared had spread back over the board. Why wouldn't the stupid fire freeze? Nope. It kept spreading behind the frozen veil as the timer ticked down so I was screwed. I would have had this board cleared on this one too. AAARRRGGGG

[Phaedrakiki]

Oh, Gardienn, that's awful! It's so not fair! I have some freezing problems myself, though the fire didn't spread on me when my 174 freezing problem occurred. I posted pics here cuz I thought it was so strange. If you happened to take a screenshot, you should post/send it to support. I'm so sorry that happened--the worst possible time to mess up! I have lots of minor freezing issues. When it starts acting up a lot, I force-close jewel mania (on iPhone, hit home key twice, lightly touch & hold JM button until a red "-" shows up, press the minus sign.) Then I get out of that and hard-restart my device (so the apple sign shows up on restart.) Not sure it's all necessary, but it seems to help for awhile. I'm always afraid I'm going to get close to passing a difficult level and then have issues--exactly what happened to you! I'm so sorry! Best of luck!

[superduperdave2]

Hey, just realized the time on 174 has been reduced to 5:44! It probably doesn't matter, but I guess I shouldn't dawdle so much. I was wondering how it was going by so fast the last couple times...duh! :confused:

Still over 7 minutes for me, but it looks like they changed the level to make it easier.
7637

[Phaedrakiki]

Still over 7 minutes for me, but it looks like they changed the level to make it easier. (...)

Wow! I looked at my level 174, and it's at 7:30. And mine looks like your photo...they took out 3 of those little windows. Should definitely make it easier to pass (and make lots of special jewels!) Maybe it won't be too bad going back for more stars after all. ;) Good luck!

[dicko56]

Wow! I looked at my level 174, and it's at 7:30. And mine looks like your photo...they took out 3 of those little windows. Should definitely make it easier to pass (and make lots of special jewels!) Maybe it won't be too bad going back for more stars after all. ;) Good luck!

I have just gotten to level 174 and as I only have 1:30 on the clock I was curious as to what strategy u guys were using!!! Shocked to see u have either 5 or 7 minutes for this level and that flames only expand after each move???? Mine keep multiplying whether u move or not and why the time difference???? Help team lava...

[Phaedrakiki]

Wow, they sure have been tweaking level 174 over the last couple months. When Aileeniweeni first posted about it, she mentioned the time kept increasing (because it was so difficult.) I took a screenshot of mine today...to post alongside the one I took earlier this month. The 1st photo was taken June 6th-ish, the 2nd today:

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/93078121-430b-455f-beb8-76e5ab265f5c_zps39db75ba.jpg http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/3b761e21-05a5-43b3-9561-92bbd431fa66_zpsf66d67a8.jpg

So they removed some windows, which makes it a bit easier. But they also removed time and made the fire spread faster (making it more difficult.) Yep, LOTS of tweaks! Sorry, -that level still looks like a nightmare! :(

[aileeniweeni]

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag81/Beadsbykat/3b761e21-05a5-43b3-9561-92bbd431fa66_zpsf66d67a8.jpg


I just checked my level 174 and mine has also been changed to look like this picture above except i have 1:30 on the clock as of right now. I played it a couple times and the fire does indeed spread independent of making moves. The fire now behaves as it does on most of the other timed fire levels, which spreads as time passes. The positive note is that it is MUCH easier to make matches and create special jewels compared to before, so take advantage of that. I tried to contain the fire as much as possible and make horizontal blasters, and hope that i could get the horizontal blaster to fall to the bottom row so it would wipe out the fire.

i actually think this level feels improved over the original one. because that one felt more about luck. but to each their own :) and good luck everyone!

[Phaedrakiki]

Oh yeah, that original one made my arm actually hurt--it was so long yet felt hopeless a lot of the time! This has to be an improvement, lol! :)

[mrshopia]

Hey guys! New to the forum and so delighted to find fellow enthusiasts :D Question about level 172... The time on my game says 1:10 but the challenge says to finish in 180secs. Is this a bug and has any one encountered it before? Thanks!

[Phaedrakiki]

Welcome to the forum, mrshopia! My 172 game & challenge now say the same as yours, but my timer used to have 9+ minutes! My guess is they've made some tweaks to the level, but haven't fixed/adjusted the challenge to reflect the changes. Just my opinion, lol... ;)

[aileeniweeni]

welcome mrshopia! Phaedrakiki sounds on track. Level parameters may be adjusted along the way so that the level isn't too easy or impossible to pass. This would include the amount of time on timed levels. I'm not sure what the original time was on level 172, but I am guessing it was over 180 seconds. Thanks for catching this and I'll pass this along.

But on the plus side, if you're able to pass this level, you should be guaranteed the keys from the challenge as it is set right now. :)

[FrozenTurtle]

Hey guys! New to the forum and so delighted to find fellow enthusiasts :D Question about level 172... The time on my game says 1:10 but the challenge says to finish in 180secs. Is this a bug and has any one encountered it before? Thanks!

Thanks for the report! This should now be fixed. :)

[mrshopia]

LOL Chance to pass the level would be good!! It's near impossible atm at 1:10 >.<

[dicko56]

LOL Chance to pass the level would be good!! It's near impossible atm at 1:10 >.<

Now level 174 has dropped back to 1:30 again but looks like flame has slowed down .. Hard to tell as I got lucky within 10 seconds with a bomb and blaster that wiped out all flames... After days of trying

[Phaedrakiki]

Yay! Congratulations...that level is one of the toughest ever! Lots of posts about the struggles with 174!

[mrshopia]

They've fixed and adjusted 172 as well... Its now just under 2 mins. Sorry, forgot the exact time.

[divadonna78]

Mine still says 1:10....im using lots of energy trying to beat this in the alotted time. I also checked to see if maybe there was an update u needed but no avail.

[kat1493]

I seem to have a similar issue on level 172 - 1:10 on the clock. How do you fix this?

[schnuffles]

Hey folks!!

Just to clear something up: the time of 1:10 is the correct time for the level. The challenge for 172 was incorrect and has been fixed, but 1:10 on the clock is the intended amount of time. I know its a challenge, but best of luck to you all!! :cool:

Cheers!

[gremela]

Hi in 174 (fire level) it says on the forums that the fire only spreads when you make a move but I have noticed when playing that the fire keeps increasing whether you move or not. can anyone explain why this is happening of have they changed the level recently? thanks for any help

a
yea if one half of the board is covered in flames it's pretty much impossible to pass the level. you're probably better off saving your time and just restarting the level. because there are too many jewel colors to be able to make lots of special jewels and combos. i've played this level numerous times on my other account and i was never able to make a come back after half my board went up in flames. and i guess it's even hard to make "smart moves" on this level since you often only have 1 or 2 choices to make a match. And all the extra time that was added is really not helpful at all! haha. Good luck Phaedrakiki!! hope you're not stuck there too long :)

[Phaedrakiki]

Hi in 174 (fire level) it says on the forums that the fire only spreads when you make a move but I have noticed when playing that the fire keeps increasing whether you move or not. can anyone explain why this is happening of have they changed the level recently? thanks(...)

If you check out my post (http://forums.storm8.com/showthread.php?51244-Unicorn-Summit-Levels-169-174/page5&p=670047#post670047) from a few months ago, you can see side-by-side screenshots of the changes they made to this level. They did a lot of tweaking, trying to make it challenging, yet not impossible (like many of us were feeling!) They removed the little windows, which were extremely difficult to work around. That made it easier, so they reduced the amount of time needed. The post also mentions that they changed the way the fire moves...how it acts the same way it does on most other timed fire levels. The post below mine confirms this. Not sure why they did that, perhaps just to keep things consistent throughout the game. Gauging by the posts in this thread, this level in particular was very hard to "get right" for us players. It still looks like a tough level, but it has to be an improvement--it was SO crazy-difficult before!
Best of luck with it! ;)

[gremela]

Phaedrakiki hi, thanks for your help in the past :). I read your earlier posts & see that you had advised level 174 had been charged (sorry I didn't look further b4 posting) but is this down to purely luck? If it is I am right out of it I don't seem to be able to get even close. After so many attempts (prob 2+ weeks) it get soul destroying to not even get close

[Phaedrakiki]

Hi Gremela! I'm sorry, I thought I already responded to this post. Not sure what happened to it (I must be losin' it!) ;) Back in June, when I played level 174, you really did need a lucky board. A lot of stamina too, lol. (That 7 minutes or so took so long...my arm would get sore from all the repetitive swiping!) ;) I finally got a lucky one (diamond + blaster combo early in the round, that wiped out all the fire with lots of time to spare.) But, now that they removed the windows, made the timer shorter, and sped up the fire--it's practically a different level. So I really don't know if it comes down to luck (although to a certain extent, they all do--at least a little bit, anyway.) I'd have to play it again in order to offer any real insight. And I'm kinda dreading that--that level was a nightmare! :eek:

I'm so sorry you've been stuck on it so long. Perhaps they need to add some time back to the timer. Now that they've fixed the window problem, which basically had the entire board split in two and made it SO difficult. Are you doing all the usual fire-fighting things? Making lots of special jewels, and trying to create big combos? Like blaster + bomb, diamond + blaster, diamond + bomb? Are you working fast, trying to keep the fire as small as possible by making matches down against the fire? If you're doing all the "right" things, and you've been at it over 2 weeks, then it sounds like they need to add more time to the level. I wish you the best of luck, and hope you pass this level quickly (that's if you haven't already...!) Good luck! Let us know how it goes! :)

[Diamondblaster]

Wow - it's interesting how different the amounts of time are. You mentioned 9 minutes - my timer gives me 1:20! Is there any way to get more time? Thanks for all the tips - they are very helpful!

[Diamondblaster]

Sorry - I thought my post would attach to what I was responding to, and it didn't. I'm on level 172, and I get 1:20 on the timer. Is there any way to get more time?

[Phaedrakiki]

Wow - it's interesting how different the amounts of time are. You mentioned 9 minutes - my timer gives me 1:20! Is there any way to get more time? Thanks for all the tips - they are very helpful!

(...)I'm on level 172 (...)

Thanks, Diamondblaster! I agree; I find the changes interesting, as well. The little time/moves tweaks, and sometimes physical changes to the levels, too (like adding/removing crates, snake heads, windows, etc.) That's why I started leaving the "stats" each time I play a level (to make it easier to keep track.)

But levels 172 & 174 have had more than the usual amount of changes made to them. I'm assuming they had lots of complaints about how overly difficult they were. At first, it seems like they just kept adding more time to help players (going up into the 7 & 9-minute ranges.) But when that didn't work, they tried other things to make them easier. I've already posted about the 174 changes. For 172, I noticed they removed one of the jewel colors. You mentioned there was 9 minutes when I played...they also used all 6 jewel colors on the board. My chief gripe back then was that I couldn't find a match for the doom jewels. But with fewer colors on the board (there's 5 now,) that problem shouldn't be as bad. I don't know if they've made any other changes (other than lowering the time/# of jewel colors.) I haven't played 172 again (I really dislike timed levels, especially those with doom jewels!) But since players are still complaining about it, perhaps it needs more tweaks (or at least more time!)

Unfortunately, I don't know of a way to get more time. You can ask for it, I suppose. I have seen them add time/moves when players are struggling on a particular level. It doesn't always work, but it can't hurt either. ;) You can always buy more time with gold (probably not what you meant, though.) But if you need just a few more seconds, you can always press the "more time" button.) Not the best solution, and it can be expensive. (Then again, when you're desperate to get through a particularly frustrating level, lol...it's worth it! There have been a few levels where I had to pay to keep my sanity... ;))

Best of luck to you!

[mommy1951]

wow, reading this I realize I have lost interest in going further. I've been stuck on 171 for over a month, playing a little every day. I only have 2:25 time and can't even make it half way thru . Seems it's only getting harder so might be time to delete. I don't understand why all the time difference and this one level has ruined the game. Such a shame because I really enjoyed it up till now. :(

[Phaedrakiki]

(...) I've been stuck on 171 for over a month, playing a little every day. I only have 2:25 time and can't even make it half way thru . (...) I don't understand why all the time difference and this one level has ruined the game. (...) :(

Wow, I'm really surprised at this! I knew they made lots of changes to 172 & 174, but I didn't know they messed with 171. When I played it was 5:15 with 6 jewel colors in play. I see that they reduced the jewel colors to 5 (which makes it easier,) but reduced the time to less than half. I don't understand this either, cuz there weren't any complaints here about it. Even I liked it alright, and I usually despise timed levels! I hope they add some time to this level for you. Although less colors means it's easier to create special jewels (which you need to blast all those black jewels!,) 12 meters is a long way to dig in just 2:25. That is a shame! C'mon, TL--that seems too difficult!

Good luck, mommy! :)

[carlej]

I have one star on level 172 and 2stars on the other levels But I have not passed 174- ?? If I ever get a star on 174 how many total stars do I need to get to 175?

[Phaedrakiki]

Hi Carlej, you need an average of 2 stars per level (game total, not per-island) to progress to new islands. So, for the levels you get 1 star on, you need some 3 star levels to compensate. Many players go back to get 3 stars on the earliest levels, then work forwards (when they get stuck & need more stars.) To answer your question literally, you'd need 174 x 2, or 348 stars to go on to 175...

[tannah7]

Level 172 is only 1:30 now and seems impossible.

[tannah7]

The timer is now 1:30 and the level is impossible. It really doesn't make sense!!

[sksk592409]

this region is very easy